monarchy

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

King Charles to Get 45% Pay Raise
Guess Who's
Getting a
45% Raise?

Guess Who's Getting a 45% Raise?

King Charles' sovereign grant to climb to $160M in 2025, up from the current $111M

(Newser) - King Charles III is set to receive a 45% raise. On Thursday, the UK Treasury announced details of the monarchy's annual budget, known as the sovereign grant, suggesting it would be slashed in the coming years to allow funds to be spent on public services, as the king himself...

In Scotland, an Elaborate Day for King Charles

He'll be presented with the Scottish crown jewels

(Newser) - Two months after the lavish coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, Scotland is set to host its own event to mark the new monarch's accession to the throne. While Charles and Queen Camilla won't be crowned a second time Wednesday in Edinburgh, the festivities...

Constantine, Last King of Greece, Dies
Constantine, Last
King of Greece, Dies
OBITUARY

Constantine, Last King of Greece, Dies

Country abolished monarchy in 1973

(Newser) - Constantine, the former and last king of Greece, who won an Olympic gold medal before becoming entangled in his country's volatile politics in the 1960s as king and spent decades in exile, has died. He was 82. Doctors at the private Hygeia Hospital in Athens confirmed to the AP...

Quebec Lawmakers Refuse to Pledge Allegiance to King

Separatist leader says it's time for country to cut its ties with the monarchy

(Newser) - Canada now has a king as its head of state for the first time since 1952, and the leader of the separatist Bloc Quebecois party says the change in monarch is a good time for the country to ditch the monarchy altogether. It's "an opportunity for Quebecers and...

Barbados Elects First President, Prepares to Ditch Queen
Barbados to
Officially Drop
Monarchy
UPDATED

Barbados to Officially Drop Monarchy

Country will swear in first-ever president

(Newser) - Update: Barbados will, late Monday night, swear in its first president, thus officially ousting Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and cutting the island country's last imperial link to Britain after Britain colonized it in 1627. Prince Charles will be present at the ceremony, CNN reports. Barbados will...

In Italy, a Fight for the Claim to a 'Pretend Throne'

Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Maria on track to be queen of a defunct monarchy

(Newser) - "She now, is, how do you say, the future régnante" of Italy, says Clotilde Courau of her teenage daughter, who lives in Paris. If your reactions are "what?" and "what??" that's understandable. Italy, of course, has no monarchy, which was done away with in 1946...

2 Black Women 'Took Down' Monarchy's Final Myths
2 Black Women 'Took Down'
Monarchy's Final Myths
the rundown

2 Black Women 'Took Down' Monarchy's Final Myths

Meghan Markle and Oprah force a reckoning on British racism, and Prince Harry is fully on board

(Newser) - If you expected the Oprah interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to make a few headlines on celebrity sites and disappear, think again. The fallout over their allegations of racism—particularly that the royal family was concerned about the color of their son's skin—continues to resonate. Coverage:...

She Insulted the King. Now, a Record 43-Year Sentence

Thai ex-civil servant was originally supposed to get 87 years behind bars for violating lese-majeste law

(Newser) - A court in Thailand on Tuesday sentenced a former civil servant to a record prison term of 43 years and six months for breaching the country's strict law on insulting or defaming the monarchy, lawyers said. The Bangkok Criminal Court found the woman guilty on 29 counts of violating...

Court Makes King's Love Child a Princess

Belgium's ex-king denied paternity for years

(Newser) - After a long legal battle, Belgian artist Delphine Boel is now Delphine of Saxen-Coburg-Gotha, princess of Belgium. The Brussels Court of Appeal has ruled that the 52-year-old is entitled to be recognized as a princess and to use the surname of her father, former king Albert II, the Guardian reports....

Protesters Replace a Plaque That Vanished in 2017

Mass student-led rally in Thailand calls for reforms to the monarchy

(Newser) - Anti-government demonstrators occupying a historic field in the Thai capital on Sunday installed a plaque symbolizing the country's transition to democracy to replace the original one that was mysteriously ripped out and stolen three years ago, as they vowed to press on with calls for new elections and reform...

Sweden's King Removes Royal Titles From 5 Grandchildren

Move will streamline country's royal family

(Newser) - Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf has taken the unusual step of stripping five of his grandchildren of their royal titles—but it's not because of a family feud. The five children, aged between one and five, are the offspring of the younger two of the king's three...

Burger King Marketing Stunt Ticks Off Belgian Monarchy

The ad pits King Philippe against Burger King's mascot

(Newser) - Fast food giant Burger King started off on the wrong foot with a fairly important Belgian family in the chain's latest global venture. Reuters reports that Belgium’s monarchy is not happy with an online marketing campaign depicting the country's King Philippe that Burger King launched to advertise...

Queen Celebrates Milestone No Other British Monarch Has

She's marking a 'sapphire jubilee'

(Newser) - Queen Elizabeth II shattered yet another royal record Monday when she became the first British monarch to have a Sapphire Jubilee marking a 65-year reign. Elizabeth—head of state of Australia, Canada, and more than a dozen other countries besides the UK—became queen on Feb. 6, 1952 after her...

Today's Scotland Vote: What You Need to Know

The vote over Scottish independence is here

(Newser) - Scots are taking to the polls today to determine whether Scotland should gain legal independence from the United Kingdom for the first time since 1707. Voters—more than 4 million perhaps, with 97% of the electorate registered to vote—have access to 2,608 polling places across the country between...

Belgium's King Albert Abdicates

Son Philippe takes oath in fractious nation

(Newser) - Belgium's King Albert abdicated today after a 20-year reign, as his son, Philippe, took over as this fractured nation's seventh king later in the day. The 79-year-old Albert signed away his rights as the kingdom's largely ceremonial ruler in the presence of Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo,...

Horrors: Belgian Royals Must Now Pay Taxes

Their allowances also are cut, except for the reigning king

(Newser) - Belgium is taking after the monarchies of Britain and the Netherlands and trimming the royal purse strings. Reigning King Albert II is exempt, but other royals are going to pay income taxes for the first time and get smaller allowances, reports Reuters . For instance, in the case of Queen Fabiola—...

Dutch Get First King for 120 Years
 Dutch Get 1st King in 120 Years 
UPDATED

Dutch Get 1st King in 120 Years

Huge street party greets Willem-Alexander

(Newser) - It's party time in Amsterdam: Queen Beatrix has signed her abdication papers, making her son Willem-Alexander the country's first king since William III died in 1890. Huge orange-clad crowds gathered in the Dutch capital to say farewell to the popular queen and celebrate the annual Queen's Day...

Netherlands' Queen Beatrix to Abdicate

Son Willem-Alexander to become country's 1st king in century

(Newser) - Dutch Queen Beatrix announced today that she will abdicate on April 30 after 33 years as head of state, clearing the way for her eldest son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, to become the nation's first king in more than a century. The announcement, in a nationally televised speech, signaled an...

Dig Thinks It's Found Richard III Under Car Park

Archeologists find skeleton with curved spine, arrow through back

(Newser) - Archeologists in England think they may have indeed found the remains of the "tyrant king" Richard III in a dig under a car park in Leicester, reports the Daily Mail . They announced today that a number of factors that make them think it's the real deal, most notably...

British Throne's 'True Heir' Dead at 71

Some historians believe Mike Hastings had a claim to the crown

(Newser) - The rightful heir to the British throne may have just died in Australia. Some historians considered Mike Hastings, the 14th earl of Loudoun, to be the true heir, descended as he was from the House of York. The AFP reports that the claim stems from documents uncovered by one historian...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>